Melissa Clark46 said:Honestly, it’s pretty terrible
I usually roll out of bed around 9:00 AM.
I start with half a liter of Nescafé mixed with milk—enough to keep me moving.
Then, maybe an hour or two later, I actually sit down for something labeled "breakfast":
Chocolate cereal;
Cereal with milk;
Tuna with olive oil, plus some mozzarella and toast;
Bread with cream cheese, hard cheese, prosciutto, and tomato;
Some deli meat, spread, and yogurt;
Frankfurters with mayo, mustard, and bread;
Those are just a few of my most frequent breakfast rotations.
Lunch
can happen around 4:00 PM, or even later depending on how the day goes.
Spinach, mashed potatoes, and some protein—usually chicken, turkey, or maybe Frankfurters. 👎)
Tomato soup, seasoned rice, a green salad, and more poultry, most often chicken or turkey.
Broccoli cream soup, buttered carrots, and either rice or something sautéed in olive oil, accompanied by chicken.
Slow-cooked beans with corn, paired with a cucumber salad topped with full-fat cream.
Spaghetti with tuna, heavy cream, and olives.
Pizza (either ordered in or homemade).
Dinner
is either a repeat of whatever I had for breakfast,
or it's just a massive pile of crackers and chocolate.
It's rarely just an apple or some other fruit.
Even if I manage to eat a yogurt, I end up staying awake way too long; I always crave something sweet—cookies, chocolate, chips, you name it.
I usually head to bed around midnight.
I'm just quickly listing what I typically eat here.
Of course, there are days where breakfast doesn't exist at all—I just graze on cookies or various croissants until late afternoon, and then I'll order a pizza to eat late in the evening.
I know it’s bad...
Alright, let's hear it...
Whoa... you really are eating a lot of stuff you shouldn't be...
First off, cut that "coffee" habit down to one normal cup.
Switch to whole grain or rye bread; it has a lower glycemic index, it's less processed than white bread, and it's much healthier. (If you have to, buy a couple of loaves from a local bakery like Panera Bread and use them for your three main meals.)
Frankfurters or eggs and tomatoes... that's fine with a single slice of dark bread.
You could also go with turkey deli meat or cottage cheese.
Ditch the chocolate cereal, the mayo, and the hard cheeses.
It would be incredibly helpful if you started your mornings with fruit—apples, peaches, oranges... they even have berries now, so chop those up and eat them with some low-fat yogurt.
If you absolutely need a sugar fix, I recommend buying real Jarvis syrup; it’s a bit pricier, but it's a natural sweetener and far better than any artificial substitute. Just drizzle it over your fruit and yogurt... delicious.
Secondly, stock up on different types of grains (you can find the good stuff at any health food store). Cook a batch and divide it among several meals (like 2 or 3 breakfasts).
Add some grated apple, a dash of cinnamon, some Jarvis syrup, and yogurt—maybe throw in some walnuts or almonds... that makes for a fantastic breakfast.
Grains are great because they keep you full, they're good for your gut and digestion, and most importantly, they help with hydration.
Then, a few hours later, grab an apple, some strawberries, cherries, or whatever else is in season (between lunch and breakfast).
You should try to eat lunch earlier to avoid such a huge gap; if you wait too long, you get ravenous, and then it becomes impossible to control your portions.
If you can hold out and eat lunch after 4:00 PM, make sure it’s a meal that prevents you from having a massive dinner later.
Cut out the mashed potatoes entirely if you can. If you absolutely must have them, stick to boiled potatoes.
And definitely ditch the heavy cream. You can enjoy almost any vegetable soup without it. Cream is a total calorie bomb.
Boiled carrots in butter...... 😲..well, if you can manage it, please ditch the butter. I mean, look—butter is obviously better than margarine (even though everyone seems to think the exact opposite),
but still. Try using olive oil instead if you can; just stay far away from margarine, because frankly, it’s just revolting to my palate.
And please, don't go frying your meat—just sear it in a pan with a little olive oil or try poaching it.
Looking at your diet, I see plenty of fish, but nothing except canned tuna. That’s a shame. I know good seafood can be pricey, but you can definitely find more affordable cuts—and by that, I mean actual sea fish, not river fish, which is way too fatty.
Corn, potatoes, carrots... those all have a massive glycemic index. You really ought to try incorporating more green salads, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, or steamed vegetables like Swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage, or cauliflower.
As for pasta—pairing it with cream? That is equally ABYSMAL.
Eat your pasta with tomatoes, pesto, garlic, and olive oil... just please, no cream and no heaps of cheese. I realize it tastes delicious, but afterward, you won't be able to do anything except collapse onto the sofa and sigh heavily.
The same goes for rice; keep it cooked with vegetables.
After lunch or dinner—whenever you usually eat—you could have a little bit of fruit again, or maybe a single slice of whole grain bread with cottage cheese, or some cereal. But generally, don't overdo it. Ideally, your dinner or final meal should be finished by 8:00 PM.
No snacking on chips or cookies. If you absolutely must have something, stick to rusk or maybe some salty pretzels.
Cut out the store-bought juices entirely—any kind. They are all absolute garbage, loaded with additives and sugar. Just drink water or fresh-squeezed juice.
Pizza... if you absolutely insist on having it, at least go without the cheese. Or, if you must have cheese, keep the slice tiny.
Regarding exercise, an indoor stationary bike is a fantastic tool. Strip off those heavy shirts and get moving every single morning. Start with low resistance and just pedal. You have to break down that psychological barrier in your head telling you that you can't do this. Because you can.
Actually, someone should write her a starter workout routine, since I don't have much experience with stationary bikes myself—though I do know that to start, you need to pedal for at least 10 minutes without stopping. From there, increase both the duration and the resistance level every single day. Check the manual that came with the bike; it will surely tell you everything you need to know.
It would be incredibly helpful if you kept a log of everything you eat throughout the day. It's a great way to see where you're slipping up and helps you maintain some accountability.
You can post it here, and we'll keep tabs on you—either mocking you or praising you 🤣, depending on what you deserve.
Maybe that will give you some motivation. 👍
There... it might look complicated, but it isn't. I wouldn't recommend any of those drastic fad diets because they simply make no sense if you end up sliding back into your old habits—and you will, because sometimes you're just going to crave different foods.
Once you've dropped a few pounds and actually embraced these dietary changes, then you can occasionally reward yourself with a treat.
Personally, I follow Dr. Montignac's "I Eat Therefore I Slim" philosophy; he explains everything beautifully, and in my opinion, it makes the most sense when looking at the long term. Besides, so many other diets are modeled after Montignac anyway.
